


Don't Forget Your Vitamins

by Inkaroni



Series: Don't Forget Your Vitamins [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alpha Keith (Voltron), Alpha Shiro (Voltron), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Beta Hunk (Voltron), Fluff and Smut, M/M, Mostly an excuse for me to write porn at the end, Omega Lance (Voltron), Omega Pidge, Omega Verse, sorry - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-08 02:41:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12245481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inkaroni/pseuds/Inkaroni
Summary: Lance is an omega. Keith is a beta. This was something Lance had made peace with and determined that there was no way they could ever work. No matter how much he would like it to. Saving the universe and all that didn’t leave a whole lot of time to pursue such a complicated relationship.However, when Keith finally starts getting the food and nutrition his hybrid body needs he is finally revealed to be an alpha. As he struggles with his new presentation, Lance tries his best to be there for him and support him. But it's difficult when the guy you love is now totally capable of giving you the best sex of your life.Takes place post-season 3. Keith pilots the black lion and Lance pilots the red lion. Shiro is Shiro not a clone (I’m on a river in Egypt) and everything is fine except for the impending war against the Galra.





	Don't Forget Your Vitamins

**Author's Note:**

> Here there be typos and grammatical errors

When Lance presented as omega in the 8th grade (right on the school bus which was pretty damn embarrassing) he had cried to his mom when she picked him up. He didn’t want to be an omega! Why couldn’t he be a strong alpha like her? Why did he have to be a thin string bean for the rest of his life?

 

That had been a long time ago though. Since then Lance had settled into his dynamic comfortably. Omegas these days had birth control and heat suppressants to get rid of the most obvious issues being an omega posed. Other than the occasional asshole (looking at you Iverson!) it wasn’t bad.

 

However, after their extended stay in space he was starting to bemoan his status as an omega. Because, as comfortable as he was as an omega, your mate options were usually limited to an alpha. At least sexually. Those omega hormones were _very_ specific about what got them excited. And what got them excited was a big strong alpha that could make an omega whine and mewl… or whatever the trashy romance novels he totally didn’t read said.

 

But Keith Kogane was a beta.

 

And sure, nontraditional pairs were fairly common now and they made it work. But it took a lot of work. And time. And compromises. As part of a giant robot that defended the universe Lance didn’t exactly have time to for that. Hell, Keith didn’t even show much interest in him anyway.

 

Which, in the end that was probably for the best. Focus on saving the universe first. Think about his love for stupidly attractive mullet haired betas later.  

 

If only it were that easy to turn off that part of his brain. The irrational part that settled for ogling Keith from a distance; the soft black hair, the pale flashes of skin and firm muscles he caught during training, and jawline as sharp as his bayard. He was ridiculously hot and, as cheesy as it sounded, it made his heart flutter whenever he got a smile from the beta.

 

He just wishes the stupid omega hormones would get on board with the rest of him.

 

***

 

It starts when Kolivan comes for dinner.

 

Lance isn’t entirely sure why, probably Allura wanting to discuss something with him, and did the polite thing and invited him to a dinner of green mush. Lance could practically feel the awkward.

 

He isn’t very impressed judging from the way he stares at the plate. Granted, he always seemed to wear that grim and stern look so Lance couldn’t really tell. For some reason, he keeps looking from the food goo to Keith who is begrudgingly eating it like the rest of them do.

 

“Can I get you something else?” Coran asks.

 

“No.” He shakes his head. “It is fine. Will you excuse me for a moment? I need to get something from my ship.”

 

“Of course,” Allura says. When he leaves, she sighs, head in her hands. “That was stupid of me. Galra have a completely different set of nutrition needs. I might as well have served him a rock.”

 

Lance sees Keith pause in shoveling goo in his mouth.

 

“What do you mean?” The beta asks.

 

“The food goo is plant-based,” Coran explains. “Galra have a much more… meaty diet.”

 

“I never would have guessed,” Pidge says sarcastically. The bespectacled omega just stares the goo drip off her spoon. “I could go for a steak myself.”

 

“Same,” Hunk sighs, the beta pushes around the goo on his plate. Hunk must be really sick of food goo if he isn’t eating it. “I can’t wait till we get to a planet that has things I can cook with.”

 

“It’s better than nothing,” Shiro asserts. Though the alpha doesn’t seem terribly convinced himself.

 

“You’re all going to make me cry,” Coran sighs dramatically.

 

Kolivan comes in, a bag of something that kind of… drips. Lance’s stomach turns over and he pushes his plate away.

 

“Keith,” he says, handing the bag to the mullet head. “Please give this a try.”

 

To Lance’s surprise (and disgust) Keith looks like he is about to start drooling over whatever it the Galra has just plopped in front of him.

 

“What is it?” He asks, tearing open the bag.

 

“Please, just try it.”

 

“Oh my god I’m going to be sick,” Pidge gags when the beta pulls out a chunk of what looks like mostly raw mystery meat. Lance’s nose wrinkles at the smell.

 

“Don’t be rude Pidge,” Allura says, but she looks a little green around the facial markings too.

 

Keith sniffs it briefly before biting into it. Lance watches as red liquid drips from his lips.

 

“Oh my god,” Keith groans, mouth full as he goes in for more. “This is amazing.”

 

“Gross! Keith, for the love of god at least take a moment to chew!” Lance complains, putting his arm up between them, unable to watch Keith’s terrible table manners.

 

“I thought so,” Kolivan nods sagely. “This a staple of most Galra meals.”

 

Keith has already almost polished off the entire chunk of meat. He looks like a man that had just come across mountain spring water in the middle of the desert.

 

“Coran,” Kolivan turns toward the mustached altean. “If I could have a word with you and Keith? I suspect that he isn’t getting the proper nutrition his body requires. His Galra half has different needs than a human’s or altean’s.”

 

Shiro’s eyes go wide. “What do you mean?” He asks in concern.

 

Kolivan pauses in thought, regarding Keith who is sheepishly wiping his face with his sleeve. “How tall is he for a human? Average?”

 

“He’s pretty short,” Pidge says. “Even for a beta.” That earns a bitter glare from Keith. She just shrugs.

 

“I see… I suspect that his growth may have been somewhat stunted be a lack of proper nutrition.” Keith’s eyes go wide, as if this is news to him. Lance figures this is the first time he considered his Galra genetics having different needs. “I would like to give him some vitamins and make sure he gets the proper food he needs. It could cause issues down the line for him if not.”

 

Lance glances at Keith in concern.

 

“I see…” Coran hums. “Well, I think we can do something about that. Keith?”

 

“I mean… yeah,” he says. “If it will cause problems. I don’t want to be burden to the team.”

 

“You really need to work on your priorities,” Lance says, rolling his eyes.

 

“Shut up,” Keith retorts, licking red juice off his thumb. Lance tries not to watch the way his tongue flicks over the pad.

 

***

 

Beta’s usually didn’t smell like anything. They didn’t have scent glands and no pheromones to speak of. Hunk smelled of spices and whatever flowery shampoo the castle had. Keith usually just smelled like sweat which was pretty of gross.

 

So naturally, Lance thought it was pretty odd when he passed Keith in the hallway the other day and smelled something… different. It was the sour smell of B.O. but something else he couldn’t put his finger on. He figured it was just the new Galra approved diet of red food goo (“Red for the red paladin!” Coran had said) and the vitamins he had been taking. He didn’t think much of it.

 

Today, however, he was pretty concerned. Team Voltron was taking a break while the castle was en route to a new planet interested in allying with them.

 

“Hey buddy,” he says carefully from the couch, book forgotten on his lap. “You good?”

 

“Hm?” Keith hums distractedly, leaning against the wall and looking close to nodding off. His head pops up and he squints closely at Lance, like he’s having a hard time seeing. “Yeah, yeah I’m good. S’all good. Why?”

 

“Because you look like death warmed over,” Pidge says next to Lance, laptop balanced on her thighs.

 

“And you’re sweating through your jacket,” Hunk points out. He is behind the couch, looking over Pidge’s shoulder, helping out with whatever it was the omega was doing. They had been watching Keith just hold up the wall for a good ten minutes after walking in.

 

The beta blinks, as if processing their words into meaning was difficult.

 

“Keith?” Lance questions.

 

“I’m fine. Just spent a few hours in the training room. Had a lot of energy to burn.”

 

“Well you did a good job. Now go take a shower and go take a nap.”

 

Lance expects protests. He expects Keith to insist that he doesn’t need naps. Instead, he just says,“… Yeah okay. Thanks a bunch, Lance.”

 

The three paladins just blink, baffled, as he slinks off.

 

“Did he just say _thanks_?” Hunk asks, as if he isn’t sure he heard right.

 

“He’s dying,” Pidge announces. “That is the only explanation.”

 

“He’s probably just sick,” Lance says, frowning. “It could explain why he smells off.”

 

Hunk and Pidge give him weird looks.

 

“What, you haven’t noticed?”

 

“He still smells like a beta,” Pidge says. As an omega, she would have a stronger sense of smell compared to a beta like Hunk. “Pretty much smells like nothing. I haven’t smelled any change.”

 

Lance taps at his chin with a finger in thought. Maybe he had imagined the scent? Still, seeing Keith in a state like that was worrisome. If he was sick he needed bedrest and soup or something. He picks up his book again, translated Altean words barely registering. He’d check on him before dinner. Just in case.

 

***

 

“Keith?” Lance calls out, knocking on his door again. “Are you in there?” He waits but it remains silent. He frowns. Where did he go?

 

“Lance?” He almost jumps at the gravely sound of Keith’s voice and he whirls to see him at the end of the hall, swaying on his feet, looking more than a few shots drunk. He’s staring blearily at Lance and he has his nose wrinkled like he’s about to sneeze.   

 

“Quiznak! Keith, what’s going on?” Lance exclaims as Keith stumbles toward him like he’s on a mission. “I thought you were going to rest.” Sweat is dripping off his chin, splattering to the ground.

 

“Everything feels hot… and I keep smelling… something,” the beta grits out. He’s only a few steps away from Lance now and he lurches. Lance throws his arms out, ready to catch Keith before he can fall on his face, but instead Keith manages to throw himself at Lance and face-plant right in his neck.

 

Lance gives a (manly) meep, not expecting the sudden armful of sweaty beta and the hot breath ghosting across his neck. He shudders a bit and tries to lean away.

 

“Oh,” Keith mumbles and suddenly his gloved hands are gripping the short brunette strands at Lance’s nape and pulling his neck closer again. The other hand clamps down on a curvy hip. “That's what that scent was …” He slurs, inhaling deeply and pressing his nose into Lance’s pulse. Lance freezes. “You smell like… fresh laundry and brown sugar… Smells good…”

 

He can feel Keith breathe deep, mouth open as though he’s trying to taste his scent. For someone that looks close to passing out his grip is strong. Lance tries wiggling away, hand coming up to pry Keith’s off his hip but pauses as… oh. There it is again. That scent from before. He knew he wasn’t imagining it.

 

It’s stronger now, coming through under the sour sweat. He blinks as it floods his nose and transports him to summer night bonfires on the beach. Keith feels hot enough to be a roaring fire. The smell of smoldering wood and fragrant smoke is intoxicating and his eyes slip shut as he relaxes into it.

 

“So good…” Keith moans, pulling Lance close, chests pressed together. “Why do you smell so good?”

 

It’s only when Keith’s tongue flicks over the spot where his pulse is pounding that his eyes fly open and he comes to his senses. His legs almost go boneless at the wetness on his neck but he finally realizes that something is definitely _wrong_.

 

“Hey, buddy,” he says softly, trying not to freak out, lest he makes Keith freak out. “It's a little warm. Could you…” He inhales and almost falls right back into the smoky haze of Keith’s scent. His body shouldn’t be reacting to a beta like this! “… could you take a few steps back? I need a little space.”

 

He feels Keith’s hands loosen and a sharp breath and the beta peels himself away from Lance. Lance almost follows the retreating body, like a moth chasing a flame, but keeps his feet planted on the ground.

 

“I…” Keith’s face is a mask of bleary confusion, as if he isn’t sure how he got there. “I’m sorry… I don’t… quiznak… I didn’t mean…”

 

“It's cool,” he smiles. It is totally not cool. It is totally confusing and god the urge to bury his own face in Keith’s neck is strong. “Just uh… why don’t you go and nap for real ok? I’ll go get Shiro or something ok?”

 

Keith nods, frown on his face. His eyes seem a little more alert but Lance is afraid he’ll run into a wall or something as he leads him into his room and to his bed. Once he is certain Keith wasn’t going to get up he heads for the mess hall. He’ll feel a lot better once Shiro is here and can help deal with this.

 

***

 

Keith glances at Lance from the exam table and the omega is relieved. He looks ten times better than before and he isn’t sweating through his clothes anymore. Shiro is standing next to him, holding his red jacket. Coran is stroking his orange mustache and studying the monitor of info that Lance can’t figure out.

 

 “Is he ok? Space flu or something?” Hunk asks, he and Pidge coming in with Lance to check on their other paladin.

 

“No, it doesn’t appear to be. If it was space flu his tongue would have swollen up and fallen off!”

 

Lance chokes on his own spit because what the heck that was a thing? Hunk’s eyes go comically wide.

 

“… Just kidding.”

 

“Coran, please don’t joke about things like that when Keith is on the exam table,” Allura sighs, regarding Coran with a raised brow. “Just tell them.”

 

“Well it would appear that young Keith here has, as Shiro has put it, presented!” He looks at Shiro. “Is that something humans would congratulate?”

 

Lance’s eyes go wide as he stares at Keith. He meets Keith’s purple eyes and the older boy looks away, face pink.

 

“What do you mean presented? Keith is already a beta,” Pidge says.

 

“Evidentially not,” Shiro says, looking more tired than normal. “Keith is presenting as an alpha.”

 

Lance’s mouth falls open and he has the urge to slap himself across the face because he couldn’t be hearing this right.

 

“Keith’s a late bloomer?!” Lance exclaims, because what?

 

“Dude, eighteen is unheard of for late bloomers,” Pidge says, staring at Keith like he was growing a second head.

 

“Can you all stop talking about me like I’m not sitting right here?” Keith sighs, voice hoarse, like he’d been shouting.

 

“It appears that Keith was always an alpha,” Allura says, coming forward to offer some actual answers. “However, his body required a different diet than the one he had on Earth for most of his life. Thus, he never properly presented due to the stunted growth and was assumed to be a beta.” She glances at the screen of info. “Since he is now getting a more proper Galra diet and vitamins it appears his body is trying to make up for lost time.”

 

“Is there any way to stop it?” Keith asks. Immediately every pair of eyes are on him. Lance in particular is staring in complete shock. Keith’s shoulders tense and Lance sees his jaw clench. “Coran said it would take months for my body to… present properly. I don’t want to cause any… problems with it.” He doesn’t miss the way Keith’s eyes briefly flick towards him. Lance feels his tan cheeks flush a bit.

 

“What about alpha suppressants?” Pidge suggests, pushing her glasses further up her nose. “Coran synthesized some for Shiro so why not you?”

 

“The Galra vitamins that Keith are taking, in addition to his currently instability, do not mix well with the Earth suppressants,” Coran says seriously. “If he took them together it could very well do irreparable damage to his body.”

 

“The best course of action is to let it run its course,” Shiro says, shooting Keith a look. Keith nods, scowl on his face. “We’ll keep a close eye on him and monitor his health. Keith, if you feel anything, anything at all, is off you will go to Coran. Understood?”

 

“Understood,” Keith grumbles, looking like a sulky teenager. Lance understands that this must be a shock but he isn’t sure why Keith is so bitter right now. He thought Keith of all people would love the power and strength that comes with being an alpha.

 

“Pidge and Lance…” Shiro says, slowly and then hesitates.

 

“What is it Shiro?” Pidge asks, concern lacing her voice.

 

“Nothing,” he says finally, smiling slightly. “You all just keep an eye on him. Tell Coran if you see anything out of the ordinary ok? Keith might not be able to realize something is wrong while he is presenting.”

 

“Will Voltron be ok?” Hunk asks.

 

“Voltron will be fine. I can still pilot the Black Lion” Keith replies firmly. His eyes are hard but Lance can detect another emotion hidden beneath it. “I’ll be fine. I can still fly.”

 

“Keith is right,” Allura agrees. “It isn’t like he is going to completely lose himself. And Keith is strong. There should be no issues with forming Voltron.”

 

“Alright then!” Coran exclaimed cheerily. “With that I think it is time to give young Keith some time to himself. All of you; out!”

 

Coran herded all of them out the door, Lance complaining and trying to look at Keith over his shoulder. He saw Shiro was staying behind and he had that stern alpha look going.

 

Ok, maybe it was best to leave them alone for now.

 

***

 

At this rate, they were going to have to reserve a spot for Keith in the infirmary.

 

They had been training as a group and working on various team exercises. Allura had suggested it. Since the shake up with their lions and team they hadn’t had much time to work on that. This time though Allura had to go through it with them. Pidge had too much fun getting the princess stuck in the maze.

 

When it was Lance’s turn to lead Keith through he knew, something was wrong with the alpha. Well… other than what had already been going on for the last two weeks. After Keith had apologized for the let-me-just-stick-my-face-all-up-in-your-neck cocktease he had started avoiding Lance. No more witty banter or soft smiles whenever Lance cracked a joke. Much to his dismay. He would just look at Lance like he had a bad plate of food goop and walk away.

 

If Lance thought Keith becoming an alpha would make him suddenly want in his omega pants he was sorely mistaken.

 

This, however, was a different kind of wrong. Keith had barely taken two steps around the first corner of the maze before promptly falling flat on his face. And didn’t get up.

 

“Is he going to be ok?” Lance asks, hovering over the unconscious Keith. His skin looks pale and his thick brows are furrowed as if he’s having a nightmare.

 

“Weelllll,” Coran replies, not sound terribly certain. “I’m not sure why but he is incredibly weak and dehydrated at the moment. I have him on fluids but he shouldn’t be having this reaction at all… not on his vitamins and current diet.”

 

“Probably because he hasn’t been taking them,” Allura says, walking in and holding a Galra purple pill bottle. She hands them to Shiro. “I found these in the trash in his room.”

 

“What?” Why?

 

“Oh dear, well that explains a lot…” Coran says, reading Keith’s charts. 

 

“Now that I think about it he hasn’t eaten very much in the last week either…” Hunk says, turning to Lance and yeah that sounded about right now that he thought about it. He was a little preoccupied with Keith avoiding him to think anything of it.

 

“I see… After a month of proper meals and nutrition his body isn’t taking the sudden lack of it well,” Corans says. “Particularly now that he is growing into his alpha status.”

 

“Why did he stop taking it then?” Pidge says plainly.

 

No one has a real answer to that.

 

Shiro sighs. “I’ll talk to him. In the meantime, its best to let him rest and finish up our training.”

 

Lance lingers, by Keith, a thought nagging at him.

 

“Lance?” Shiro looks back at him from the door, everyone else already out the door.

 

“Would… would it be ok if I stayed behind?”

 

Shiro’s brows go up, clearly surprised.

 

“I’m worried about him,” Lance admits, shuffling awkwardly.

 

“Sure, Lance.” Shiro nods, small smile on his face as he looks at Keith. “I think he’d like that.”

 

Lance drags a chair over to the head of the cot and takes a seat. All he can hear is Keith’s breathing and the faint whirr of the castle engines and power as he keeps watch. Will he wake up soon?

 

He leans forward and sniffs at Keith. The alpha musk that had begun blooming on Keith was muddled. As if someone had tossed water on the flames.

 

How did he miss that?

 

“Don’t sniff me you weirdo.” Lance pulls back, surprised to see bleary purple eyes watching him.

                               

“I was making sure you were ok,” Lance snaps, capable of being mad now that Keith was awake.

 

“You can smell that?”

 

“Omega and all that,” he taps his nose. “Better sense of smell. Alpha’s can do that too.”

 

“What happened?” Keith croaks, looking around the infirmary. His stops at the IV in his arm.

 

“You collapsed during training. Keith… why haven’t you been taking your vitamins?”

 

Keith stiffens, fists clenching on the sheets. “Is that why I passed out?”

 

“Yes, you dumbass. You’re in the middle of presenting as a full grown alpha and you decide to starve yourself?! The heck were you thinking?”

 

Keith’s dark brows furrow at Lance and he turns his head away.

 

Lance puffs out his cheeks and folds his arms, sick of being ignored. He’s ready to let Keith have an earful, tell him for his alpha angst or whatever this was because he was done with it.

 

“I thought if I stopped taking them it would stop me from presenting.”

 

Lance deflates and his mouth goes dry. His arms fall to his sides. “ _Why_ would you want that?”

 

Keith turns back around and gives Lance a pointed look, jaw tight. Oh.

 

“Keith, if this is about the thing in the hallway I said it was fine. You didn’t even bite me.”

 

Keith doesn’t look convinced. “That's part of it. It isn’t just that though. Everything has just been so different. I can smell _everything._ And all these alpha urges and hormones… I just want to-“ He hesitates, looking away from Lance before shaking his head. “It’s too much. Things were easier as a beta.”

 

“Look, Keith, I won’t pretend I know _exactly_ what you’re going through… But you shouldn’t make yourself sick like this.” Absently, he reaches out in an attempt to soothe him and brushes a strand of black hair from his pale face. Keith’s breath hitches and his shoulders go up to his ears, like Lance’s touch was painful. Lance pulls his hand back. “No one likes seeing you like this.” Him especially.

 

“I just… what if I’m a bad alpha? What if I can’t control myself?” He sounds so small. So raw. “I can’t be anything like Shiro.”

 

“Well, you’re a little bit of a hothead…” Lance says, small smile on his face. “But I think you’ll be a great alpha.”

 

Keith’s eyes go wide and he stares at Lance like he just announced he was going bowling with Lotor. Or something equally crazy sounding. “You- you really think that?”

 

Lance blushes a bit, realizing what it means for an omega to say that to an alpha. The flicker of hope and relief in Keith’s face makes him press on. “Yeah, I do. You’ve already been a pretty good temporary leader. You’re still getting used to things… but once your body settles… I think you’ll be a damn good alpha. Not like Shiro. But your own kind of good.”

 

He can see Keith’s lips twitch a bit and his expression softens. It reminds Lance of those rare smiles he got whenever he did something Keith found funny or silly. He smiles back, a warmth running up his spine.

 

“Besides,” Lance says. “You can count on the team to have your back while you’re working through the changes.”

 

“You included?”

 

Lance laughs nervously, cheeks tingling from the flush on his face as he tries to lighten the mood. The way Keith is studying him so closely, intensely, makes him squirm in his chair. Nope. Don’t take it the wrong way Lance. “Me included.” He snatches the vitamins from the side table. “And as someone that has only your best interests at heart, I want you to eat your nasty red food goo and take your damn space vitamins.” He shoves the bottle of pills at the alpha.

 

Keith chuckles pushing himself up and uncapping the bottle. He rolls a purple (freaking Galra) pill between his fingers.

 

“You’re a pushy little omega, aren’t you?”

 

“You bet your skinny ass I am, stubborn alpha.”

 

Keith rolls his eyes and tosses the pill back.

 

***

 

Lance isn’t sure how he got here. Or when. Or where. So, three very important questions are left unanswered but he can’t be bothered because he’s warm and Keith is spooned up behind him, arms wrapped around his waist.

 

Lance purrs in content and giggles at the hot breath on the back of his neck. So familiar. 

 

“Do you like that?” Keith says low and soft in his ear and Lance gives a content sigh.

 

“How about this?” A flick of a tongue against the back of Lance’s neck turns his sigh into a breathy warble. The warmth that had spread over him like a soft blanket, focuses into something hot and tight in his stomach.

 

“More,” Lance groans, pressing back against the alpha, grinding his ass against the hardness in Keith’s pants. He thinks of how perfectly that would fill him, how it would drive deep and fulfill some deep primal need that is usually so easy to ignore but now demands to be satisfied.

 

“Such a good sweet omega,” Keith says, licking at the bite mark and brushing sweaty hair from Lance’s face.

 

“Yes, yessss,” Lance hisses, a broken record of nothing but submission. He’ll be good. He’ll be the best omega for Keith. Keith was a good alpha and needed a good mate.

 

Teeth scrape over his neck, Keith panting wetly against Lance’s skin before his teeth bite down. The pain pushes every button in Lance and he can feel the fizzle and pop of pleasure radiate through him and he cries out. More. He needs more. Please more!

 

Lance wakes with a cry that quickly goes from pleasure to horrible realization as reality sets in. He bolts up in bed, clutching the sheets tightly because holy fuck that one was new. He shifts, dick tenting the front of his pajamas, and he can feel the glide of his thighs, wet from the small amount of slick coming from his backside.

 

“Not again,” he groans, ears on fire and pressing his palms into his eyes, ashamed even though no one can see him. “Stupid body… stupid mullet-haired boys deciding they’re suddenly an alpha.”

 

***

 

Team Voltron quickly falls back into a proper rhythm again. Keith is looking a lot better. He looks like he’s comfortable in his own skin again. Even better, he isn’t avoiding Lance and they’re back to their friendly squabbles that he missed so much. It feels like things are going back to normal. Well, as normal as their lives could possibly be.

 

The only thing _not_ normal were the trashy smut filled novels that had consumed his dreams lately. All of them staring Keith as the attentive and caring alpha and Lance as a needy omega that made him blush every time he woke up. 

 

All because Keith was an alpha now.

 

He’d dealt with alphas before. Lance had plenty of time to learn to live as an omega in a world mostly dominated by them. If an alpha tried to force themselves on Lance, he wouldn’t find it too hard to deliver a swift kick to their genitals.

 

Keith was different. The new alpha’s pheromones and scent got stronger and deeper by the day. It made him feel… off. He just can’t place why.

 

“Ugh, that planet was terrible,” Lance complains, pulling his helmet off and flopping onto the couch. He was honestly surprised there weren’t any dents in his armor.

 

“It wasn’t too bad,” Hunk says, yanking his helmet off.

 

“It was raining flaming metal,” Pidge replies flatly, tossing her helmet on the table. “That’s pretty bad.”

 

“I thought I was going to die,” Lance groans.

 

“It reminded me of home,” Allura sighs wistfully, looking the same way Lance feels about rain. Alteans were pretty weird.

 

“At least the Kolorians were agreeable,” Shiro says. “We have a new ally against the Galra.”

 

“And we’ll need as many as we can get,” Keith says, flopping down next to Lance. Their shoulders are almost touching. He can smell sweat and the crackling bonfire and salty sea scent that was Keith. He wants to bury his face in his hair and just breathe.

 

“Is my hair singed?” Lance asks, running his fingers through his hair. “I swear I felt one of those pieces of metal graze my head before I could get my helmet on.”

 

“You’re fine,” Keith says, running his own hands through his helmet hair.

 

“Oh baby, don’t I know it,” Lance teases, fluttering his lashes at Keith. Ok, so he wasn’t above flirting a little. That's just how he was. Totally harmless.

 

Keith just chuckles, arm flung over the back of the couch. Lance grins at getting a laugh out of Keith and leans his head back on his arm, feeling at ease.

 

Lance misses the awkward looks the rest of the team shoots each other.

 

***

 

“Ouch!” Lance hisses. “Go a little easier with the antiseptic. It stings!”

 

“Don’t be a baby,” Keith growls, grabbing the side of Lance’s face and pulling him back to tend to the bleeding scrape on his cheek.

 

“Your bedside manner is horrible. Be a little gentler with your patient. I almost died down on that planet!”

 

Keith snorts through his nose, mouth in a frown, but the hand on his face gentles. With a little more care, he gently dabs at the bleeding wound. Lance screws his eyes shut. Tears gather at the corners and he holds his breath as Keith works.

 

A negotiation with a planet about an alliance had quickly gone sour. Lance, Hunk and Allura had booked it back to their lions but one of the speedy little gremlin aliens got Lance by the ankle. He went down with a shriek. The monsters had swarmed him like a school of piranha, little claws and teeth digging in everywhere. His armor had protected him for the most part but one got a lucky shot at the exposed part of his face before Allura whipped them off and Hunk dragged him out.

 

Not his finest moment.

 

The second they made it back on the ship, Keith got one look at him and dragged him to the medical wing.

 

“I should have been down there with you,” Keith mumbles, and Lance cracks open an eye to see the intense furrow of his brow and the clenched teeth. As if Keith is the one in pain instead of Lance.

 

“You’re not the best at diplomacy,” Lance replies. “And we didn’t need the whole team down there. We couldn’t have known it would go that badly.”

 

“I could have protected you,” he grumps. It makes Lance smile a bit, heart fluttering.

 

“Big bad alpha protecting the omega huh?” He teases.

 

“I’m not much of an alpha yet.” He seems satisfied with his work and leans forward, gently blowing on the smarting cut. It soothes a little bit of the sting and Keith’s scent makes him feel warm and fuzzy, like being wrapped in a thick wool blanket by the fire.

 

“Better?” Keith asks, inspecting his work.

 

“Much,” Lance confirms, feeling soft and loose. “It better not scar.”

 

“Coran said the ointment should take care of that.” Keith has a bandage ready, the green cream smeared on the thick pad. “It’ll heal pretty quick.”

 

“Good. Thanks for the help Dr. Kogane.”

 

“Anytime,” Keith says.

 

Maybe Keith should come with him on the next planet.

 

***

 

“Don’t turn the page, yet. I’m not done,” Keith says, chin resting on Lance’s shoulder.

 

“You’re too slow,” Lance huffs, bare feet tucked into the space between the couch cushions, Keith’s arms winding tighter around his waist. He thumbs at the corner of the page, waiting for Keith to finish the paragraph. He was smart but damn was he slow reader. “Should I just read out loud to you? Storytime for Keith?”

 

“I’m not a kid. Ok, you can turn the page now.”

 

“Hey, guys. What are you up to?” Allura walks in, smile unusually wide and eyes scrutinizing. Lance wiggles back into Keith’s chest. He isn’t sure why she’s giving them that look.

 

“Reading.”

 

“Very informative Keith,” Lance says rolling his eyes. “Coran translated out a book from the library in English for me. It’s about a pirate, his crew, and his spaceship… We think. Some words aren’t translated right. It keeps calling it a facechip.”

 

“Oh, yes. A very good story.” Allura purses her lips, studying the two of them closely. “… Anything you want to tell me?”

 

Lance glances at Keith who just shrugs, equally puzzled. “Nope.”

 

Allura looks like she ate a questionable piece of meat and can’t decide if it tastes good or not.

 

“Are you ok, princess?” Keith asks, his thumb rubbing circles on Lance's hip where his shirt is rucked up, the touch warm and soothing on his exposed skin. Lance hums slightly.

 

“Of course,” she says voice immediately cheery. “Well um I have some… princess-ey things to go do.”

 

Allura is off in a rush and Lance flips the page as Keith nuzzles his nose into Lance’s nape.

 

“That was weird,” Lance says absently, breath hitching slightly.

 

Keith just purrs in response and hooks his chin over Lance’s shoulder.

 

***

 

“Ok, I give. Where are we going? It’s cold!”

 

“Then you should have brought your jacket!”

 

“I didn’t know you would be dragging me outside in the middle of the night on an alien planet with god knows wha-“

 

“Look just shut up for a second and keep your eyes closed.”

 

Lance groans, because, as much as he trusts Keith, this was not his idea of “something cool” as Keith put it. As he’s lead along he hears leaves rustle, branches snap underfoot and the croak of something that sounds like a frog trying to imitate a cricket. How far out from the ship are they?

 

The planet they had landed on is largely uninhabited save for a variety of wild animals according to Coran’s scans. The ship had sustained some heavy damage on the shields in the last scrape with the Galra. Allura wanted to land the ship for a few quintants (those Altean measurements of time were getting easier to grasp) while they made repairs.

 

_“Plus, I think we could use some solid ground for a little while don’t you think?”_

 

Lance couldn’t agree more. He just wishes he brought his jacket. Goosebumps were breaking out along his tan arms.

 

“I’m serious Keith,” he whines as he’s lead by the other boy. A branch lightly grazes his face.

 

“Sorry did that one hit you?” Keith says, voice teasing.

 

“You totally did that on purpose you jerk. My cheek just finished healing!”

 

“I’ve been keeping most of them off you but if you keep talking I’m just going to make you follow the sound of my voice. See how you well do then.”

 

Lance tightens his grip on Keith’s hand. At this point, Lance could probably follow Keith just based on scent. The scorching smell of alpha pheromones was like a beacon ahead of him.

 

“Ok, ok just-“ He pauses, the crunching sound of forest giving way to a more familiar sound and the ground becoming soft beneath his shoes.

 

“Alright, you can open your eyes now.”

 

He opens one eye first, just in case Keith feels like pranking him or something, but the other flies open and for a moment Lance is speechless.

 

“Do you like it?” Keith asks nervously.

 

Frothy waves crash onto a black sandy beach before receding back out into a sparkling sapphire sea and it takes Lance’s breath with it. An ocean. An actual beach. With a sparkling nebula of stars reflected on its rolling surface and the salty tang of seawater, Lance feels like he’s two steps from either bawling or kicking his shoes and socks off to whoop and run through the surf like he does back home. Cold weather be damned.

 

“I love it,” Lance whispers, and then clears his throat to hide how choked up he sounds.

 

“I thought you might.”

 

Lance turns to thank Keith but stops short when he sees that Keith is staring at _him._ Not the most gorgeous alien ocean a sci-fi writer could imagine but Lance. It’s that look again: where his bushy eyebrows relax for once and his smile is small but genuine.

 

Lance smiles back and grabs Keith by the arm and drags him down to the shore.

 

He doesn't protest the stupid cropped jacket Keith drapes over him as they head back to the castle, shoulder to shoulder, walking on the backs of their damp shoes, feet covered in wet black sand. He just pulls it a little tighter around his shoulders and presses his nose into the heady scent of Keith that drenches the collar. The cold couldn’t feel more distant than it does right now.

 

***

 

Lance chokes on his water, coughing and hacking because he couldn’t have heard that properly. His ears must be malfunctioning.

 

“You wanna run that by me again, buddy?” He says, wiping his chin with his sleeve.

 

“I asked: When did you and Keith start dating?” Hunks says, just as casually as he did the first time.

 

Lance stares at his best friend in blatant shock. Ok, so he did hear that right the first time. He had spent more time around Keith maybe but that didn’t mean they were dating.

 

“We’re not!” He says, blushing hotly. As much as he wishes they were. “What makes you even ask that?”

 

He’s focusing on their mission! He’s kind of offended Hunk would imply otherwise.

 

Hunk’s eyes are wide and his face scrolls through various expressions of confusion and disbelief before he settles on frustration. “Really?! You’re sitting in his lap, touching each other, going on dates to the beach, wearing his jacket – _yes_ I saw that – and Keith is asking me to teach him how to bake. If it weren’t for the fact that you’re not marked I would think you guys were already mated.”

 

Lance opens his mouth to argue because what the hell that is completely- His jaw snaps shut with a click.

 

“Oh,” he says flatly.

 

“Yeah _oh_ ,” the beta says, raising a brow.

                                                                                                         

“I… uh…” His eyes go wider and wider with every memory that flashes by that proves Hunk 100% correct. All of that probably pointed to far more than “space partners”. Lance groans, heat flushing across his face all the way up to the tips of his ears.

 

He never saw it as anything more than spending extra time with Keith. The attention and touches were pushing all the right buttons and settled something deep and essential inside him. The little rational part of him turned off whenever Keith was near. It felt good. It felt right. Instinctual.

  

"You good?” Hunk asks, big hand gently patting Lance on the shoulder. 

 

“… I’m good… I think I have to talk to Keith though.”

 

***

 

Lance marches down to the kitchen. He needs to talk to Keith an noth - holy Voltron!

 

“What is that on the wall?” Lance shouts, staring at the pale ooze sliding down the kitchen wall.

 

Keith’s head pops up and Lance swallows back a startled laugh. Batter is dripping from the ends of his black bangs and his cheeks are smudged with flour. It looks less like cooking and more like a bakery battlefield.

 

“It was my first attempt. It didn’t turn out right. I got a little mad and… uh threw the bowl.” Keith frowns at the stained wall.

 

“Should I ask?” Lance says, quirking a brow.

 

Keith bites at his lip looking everywhere but Lance. He thrusts a bowl out to Lance.

 

“I made you garlic knots.”

 

Lance blinks. Those are most certainly not garlic knots. Last time he checked garlic knots didn’t have flecks of blue in them. He takes a wary sniff. The little twists are messy but they smell amazing.

 

“Hunk said they were your favorite.”

 

Lance really wants to crack the obvious joke. Garlic knots? From an alpha? Really? But then he sees the way Keith’s shoulders hunch and the shuffling of his feet. He looks at Lance like rejection is imminent and expects him to throw his hard work on the floor and stomp on it. Lance can’t bring himself to make the joke with how sincere Keith looks. So he wordlessly plucks a dough ball, heart thudding for some reason, and presses it to his lips.

 

Blue eyes go wide in surprise. It is a little chewy, not the flaky softness usually attributed to dough, but to his surprise, it actually has the savory garlicky butter taste. There is an oniony aftertaste but whatever alien ingredient Keith used is pretty close to Earth garlic. It tastes amazing.

 

“These are great,” he smiles through the mouthful, forgetting what he came down here to do, and immediately goes to grab another one. He falters when he sees Keith's face.

 

The flavor of the garlic knots is nothing compared to the way Keith is looking at him. He stands tall and proud, a wide smile on his lips and amethyst eyes fiery and intense. He’s looking at Lance like he wants to reach out and _take_ him. It makes something hot curl in Lance’s stomach.

 

He swallows and looks at the knots, unable to meet Keith’s gaze. “C-can I take the rest?” He asks, feeling the warmth in his belly bloom at the thought of finishing off the bowl of food that an Alpha, that _Keith_ , made just for him. 

 

“Yeah, of course,” Keith says. “I made them for you.” He looks immensely satisfied, chest puffing out. He looks that much more the part of a real alpha.

 

And then it clicks. Lance had paid attention in those embarrassing omega education classes. He had taken a ton of notes. Old fashioned as it is, he knows what it means when an alpha gives an omega gifts. Soft touches. Sweet gestures. Tending to his needs. Keith was making sure he was taken care of; that his omega was healthy and content.

 

Whether Keith knew it or not; Lance was being courted as a potential _mate_.

 

Lance can’t take it. If he sticks around any longer he’s going to end up as a puddle of omega hormones and happily be all over Keith, because this is everything he has ever wanted just handed to him in a bowl of garlic knots. He takes the dish with a rushed thanks and scurries off to his bedroom.

 

Later, when Pidge tells him dinner is ready through the door, Lance tells her he isn’t hungry. He’d already gorged himself, dish empty next to him where he is splayed out on his bed. His tongue is thick and heavily coated in butter. He feels full and pliant in a way that makes him wish Keith was there, holding him close, whispering praises into his ear.

 

_“Such a good sweet omega…”_

 

He moans at the image, hands sliding down towards the zipper of his pants, completely aware of what he was doing.

 

Fuck.

  

***

 

Lance eventually decides he needs to talk to Shiro. It had occurred to him that, as a new alpha, Keith probably wasn’t aware of the meaning of his gestures. Didn’t realize what he was offering Lance, as an omega.

 

Lance’s dreams were getting worse and more akin to torture now. The hot rough kisses and gloved alpha hands were plain cruel once he woke up, wetness running between his legs and the phantom sting of teeth on his lips and neck. He was starting to run out of lube and his own fingers could only do so much to fill the void the dreams left behind.

 

It didn’t help that Keith’s physical alpha traits were starting to show.

 

The sleeves on Keith’s jacket were pulling up above his wrists when he stretched. He could see the red fabric at his shoulders straining at the seams slightly when he went to reach across the table for more food. Lance hadn’t had the chance to check but he was also fairly sure Keith was half an inch taller than him now. That was all sorts of unfair.

 

His teeth, mostly his canines, seemed a little more prominent too which wasn’t any alpha trait Lance had ever seen. It made the dreams that much kinkier.

 

But Lance was going to go insane at this rate. It was getting harder and harder to convince himself to focus on Voltron and getting easier to listen to the whispers of, _“Why not focus on both?”_

 

Just now in the training room, Keith took out every robot that so much as stepped toward Lance with the agility and deadliness of a cat wielding knives. Lance had glared at him (“How can I practice my shots with you taking out my targets?!”) but he couldn’t be annoyed when Keith merely gave him a small little smirk (“It’s my job to have your back!”). He then proceeded to skewer a charging bot and then chuck it into the wall.

 

It was doing all sorts of funny things to Lance and he had to turn in. He did not to need to pop a boner and have slick running down his legs _right now_. He ignored the disappointed puppy look on Keith’s face as he left.

 

He takes a few deep breaths, feeling a little calmer, before knocking on Shiro’s door.

 

“Hold on!” There was a rustle of movement before Shiro opened the door. “Oh, Lance. What can-“

 

“I beg of you Shiro you need to give Keith the talk,” Lance interrupts. Naturally, Shiro looks completely baffled and Lance has to clarify. “He’s been super touchy feely, making me food… and I don’t think he realizes what it means.” Lance blushes, unable to meet Shiro’s eyes. He feels like he’s complaining about a boy pulling his metaphorical pigtails at the playground.

 

“Lance,” he says, a small smile on his face. “Keith already knows about the “talk”. I gave it to him the day he presented as an alpha.”

 

“No, I mean the _other_ talk! Like… the courting rituals and mating things!”

 

Shiro raises a black brow at Lance. “He knows all that too.”

 

Lance’s mouth falls open a bit and goes a little dry as Shiro sticks a pin the only explanation he had for Keith’s behavior. He deflates a bit. “Oh,” he squeaks, staring hard at the metal floor.

 

“Don’t worry,” the alpha says, putting a gentle hand on Lance’s shoulder. It is nothing like Keith’s touch. “Keith gives into his instincts easy. He goes with what his gut and heart say rather than his head sometimes. But if you’re uncomfortable with it tell him and I’m sure he’ll stop.”

 

“So he… knows what he’s doing? This isn’t some alpha mumbo jumbo that's making him do all this? What if it’s just an alpha’s instinct to court an omega?”

 

“If that were the case he would be making spaghetti for Pidge.”

 

Huh. He hadn’t thought of that. Pidge was an omega yet Keith wasn’t touchy-feely with her. The idea made him a little nauseous.

 

“Lance,” Shiro sighs as if this is something he had to teach several times. “Has the fact that you’re an omega made you do something you didn’t want or like?”

 

Lance scoffs. Of course not. His omega was a part of him and Lance could control it if he wanted to. His eyes go wide, as it dawns on him.

 

“It is the same for us alphas. We aren’t forced to do anything because of our dynamic. If Keith it courting you… It’s because he wants to.”

 

Lance goes quiet, looking down at his shoes, a strange giddiness building in his chest.

 

“I can still talk to him if you want.”

 

“No, it- it’s fine.” Lance shakes his head.

 

“And if you’re worried about the team... Just because we’re paladins doesn’t mean we can’t have lives outside of the mission. Remember that.”

 

He gives a smile. “Thanks, Shiro.”

 

Lance heads back to his room, hesitating for a moment outside Keith’s, before thinking better of it.

 

Keith knew what he was doing. That much was clear from what Shiro said. He knew the courting rituals. He knew what they meant.

 

A small smile spreads across his face and he rolls around on his bed, clutching his pillow.

 

***

 

A few days later he decides it’s time to talk to Keith. He wants to discuss a proper relationship between them, rather than Keith just sneakily trying to court him and not say anything.

 

“Keith?” He calls out, knocking on the door, finding the situation oddly familiar. “Can we talk for a second?”

 

Lance rocks back on his heels in anticipation. Silence.

 

He huffs and knocks again. He hears a rustling from inside. Just as he’s about to walk right in the door slides open.

 

Lance almost buckles right then and there. The scent from the room is overpowering, dominating in a way Lance didn’t know a scent could be. It wraps around him and clings to his nose heavily. His mind goes fuzzy and he blinks, trying to hold onto himself.

 

Keith’s bulk leans heavily against the door frame, panting and sweating as though he had just run a marathon in record time. Heat radiates off him like a furnace.

 

Lust laps at the edge of Lance’s mind, the smoky alpha’s pheromones trying to drag him under, into his own desires. He whines, high and reedy, fighting the urge to reach out and touch Keith.

 

Keith’s head snaps up, gasping heavily, brows furrowed. He gives a full body shudder when his heated gaze lands on Lance. His face is ruddy and flushed, his eyes dark and hooded. His head slumps forward, bangs casting a shadow over his face.

 

“You need to go,” he grits out as if saying those very words were tearing something apart inside him. “Go get Shiro. I- I’m not sure how long I can…” He pauses, fingers clenching white on the frame. “… Not sure how long I can hold back.”

 

Oh quiznak. Keith is in rut.

 

Saliva pools in Lance’s mouth at the realization and his dick gives a hopeful twitch. His asshole is already drooling down the back of his thighs, something Keith clearly scents as he growls low and desperate. The alpha’s body is wound tight as a wire ready to snap, begging to be let loose.

 

He could get Shiro. No doubt he would take care of things. He was strong enough to hold Keith back. Keep him away from Lance until his rut passed. Leave Keith a snarling beast locked away as his blood called out for his other half. His mate.

 

He whimpers. It leaves a bitter taste in his mouth.

 

He thinks of Keith gently tending to his wounds, reading over his shoulder, kicking and splashing in the surf. He thinks of that sheepish look as the most badass pilot in the Garrison slaved over an oven just for Lance. He thinks of the dreams and their moment in the hallway.

 

_If Keith it courting you… It’s because he wants to._

 

Really, it was kind of a no-brainer.

 

Lance steps over the threshold and the door hisses shut behind him.

 

“You don’t have to hold back,” he says, smiling widely.

 

Keith’s frantic eyes go wide and he shrinks back as Lance steps closer. His hands are clenched tight and trembling.

 

“Wait. No. I – I… wanted to court you properly,” he babbles. “I-“

 

Lance reaches up, gently placing his hand on Keith’s heated cheek. The alpha leans into it, eyes fluttering shut and his fists unclench, hanging loosely at his side. Lance can smell his scent calm slightly at his touch.

 

“I wanted to prove myself. When I was a beta I kind of figured I didn’t have a chance with you. I wasn’t enough. So I kept it to myself. Things were complicated anyway. But when I presented out of nowhere… It was overwhelming. My senses. My urges. You, especially. I was so close to doing more than just licking your neck.”

 

Lance shivers, and listens in awe, rubbing his thumb across Keith’s cheek. It was oddly similar to Lance’s line of thinking.

 

“I was scared I might hurt you somehow. So I stopped eating the Galra food and vitamins.”

 

“Like a dumbass,” Lance says softly, as though dumbass was a term of endearment. Maybe it was for them.

 

“Then,” he continues, eyes finally meeting Lance’s. His pale hand comes up to cover the brown one on his cheek. “You said you had my back. You believed I could be a good alpha.” Keith steps closer, hips barely an inch apart, the slight height difference that suddenly popped up was a little more obvious. “That meant a lot to me. And I realized that there was only one person I would want to be a good alpha for.”

 

The air between them is hot and humid, both of them breathing heavily and their mixing scents are thick enough that Lance can taste it on his tongue. Carefully, Keith’s other hand makes its way to Lance’s hip, resting heavily there, scorching hot through his shirt and the alpha’s gloves.

 

There is a line they’re inching towards. Lance can feel his body prepping for it, responding to the rut that Keith is in.

 

“I was going to ask you out on a proper date,” Keith says, somehow managing to look pouty through the lust plain on his face. “I wanted to court your properly. I didn’t think I would go into a rut so soon.”

 

“You take care of me. You took me to the beach. You lent me your jacket. You made me garlic knots.” Lance presses his forehead against Keith’s. “In my book, you’re already doing pretty good.”

 

“I’m glad. Because I don’t think I can let you go right now. If you try leaving I might literally hunt you down and fuck you on the closest surface.”

 

“I won’t lie,” Lance chuckles breathily. “That’s pretty hot. I’ve had a few of dreams kind of like that.”

 

“Yeah?” Keith growls, grip going tight on Lance’s hand. His fingers dig into his hip.

 

“How about you make some of them come true, alpha?”

 

Just like that the space between them is gone, both hands are on Lance’s hips, dragging him close, and Keith’s mouth is rough and hard on his lips.

 

_Finally._

 

Lance’s legs finally give out and he throws his arms around Keith, sighing at the hot tongue delving into his mouth, dominating and possessive.

 

“Mine,” Keith chants against his mouth, nipping at the swell of his lower lip. Keith’s sharp canines catch and pull at the delicate skin. Soft pops of pleasure spark all the way down to Lance’s toes.

 

They kiss desperate and needy, as though they’ll never get another chance. Keith tastes like toothpaste and what Lance can only assume is the red food goo.

 

The back of his knees hit Keith’s bed and he falls back, bouncing on the mattress. Keith looks down, eyes raking down his form and Lance swears he sees a flicker of gold in his irises. He watches as he rips his shirt off, thrown off nowhere important and reaches down to yank Lance's over his head.

 

Lance barely has time to appreciate the new width of Keith’s shoulders and the toned muscles of his torso before the alpha is on top of him, his mouth on his neck.

 

“Oh my god,” Lance whimpers, the same pleasure he felt three months ago in the hall, bubbling up as if it was just picking up where they left off. He tips his head back, baring the smooth slope of his neck in submission.

 

“Are… are you sure?” Keith asks, voice deep and almost unrecognizable. Lance hears a sheet tear near his ear, indicating that Keith is just barely holding back. He’s teetering on the edge of rationality and rut when he falls he’s going to drag Lance with him. Omega suppressants or not. The alpha pheromones just tear through the drug’s effects.

 

“Yes, yes, yes please just fuck me,” he whines, nails scrabbling at Keith’s back.

 

“You’re so eager to please aren’t you?” Keith chuckles, scrapping his teeth down his neck, to bite hard at his clavicle. Lance bucks up into Keith, and almost sobs at the barrier of their pants. “You want to be mine?”

 

“God yes! I’ll be good. So good. Please.”

 

Keith slowly begins to strip Lance of his pants, shimmying them off his hips so Lance can kick them off his ankles. Lance reaches down, desperate to get Keith’s off too.

 

“No,” Keith snarls, the dominance of an alpha in the command and Lance sobs as a hand grabs both wrists and shoves them above his head. The other hand comes down, hooking into the waist of his boxers, and pulling them down.

 

The seat of the boxers is drenched, omega slick darkening the fabric in the alpha’s hands. Keith takes a moment to inhale, irises blown wide.

 

“The first time I could smell you I thought I was going to go insane,” Keith says. “You smell like clean laundry and brown sugar. So sweet and perfect.”

 

“You smell like a bonfire on the beach at night,” Lance groans, squirming against his hold. “I feel like I’m going to burn up in you.”

 

Keith skims one hand up Lance’s side, feathery soft as if he’s still afraid to touch. He looks down taking in Lance’s prone and exposed form, as if committing the entire length of him to memory. Lance suddenly feels a little self-conscious under the gaze but can’t use any of his limbs to cover himself.

 

“You’re so beautiful,” Keith croons, peppering wet kisses along his shoulder and down to his chest. “Have I ever told you that? It drove me crazy. The soft skin... lithe and long limbs. Your legs are perfect for hanging on tight as you’re fucked into.”

 

Lance keens at the praise, the words going straight to his cock and his ass, clenching tight and desperate to be filled. He was always a was sucker for attention and compliments and he preens.

 

More praise. More teeth. More kisses. More _Keith_. He wants to greedily to have it all once.

 

“Pants… off,” he begs, writhing and rubbing his weeping cock against Keith’s pants, wanting any kind of friction he can get.

 

“Fuck,” Keith bites out, and Lance whines as he pulls away to kick his pants and underwear off.

 

“Oh my god your fucking dick,” he groans, reaching out to touch. It’s bigger than Lance guessed but not massive like some omega porn makes it out to be. Then again Keith still had a little bit of growing to do. Globs of pre-cum weep from the tip and helps his fingers glide down the hard length. Keith growls, his shoulders and chest heaving in barely-there restraint.

 

That's going to be inside him soon.

 

Lance reaches down, thumb glancing against the base of his hard dick before sliding down to where he gapes and leaks all over Keith’s bed. He writhes as he presses a finger against the puckered flesh, a surge of pleasure firing through his spine as it sinks in easily. He had never been this loose and ready without prep.

 

The rumble above him, like a distant thunderstorm, is the only warning he gets before his hand is wrenched away (again) and he squawks as he’s flipped onto his knees, one hand dragging his ass up on display and his chest pressed into the bed.

 

Lance feels bare hands on the swell of his ass, sliding down before pulling the cheeks apart.

 

“Beautiful,” Keith says, soft and reverent. Lance’s fingers clench hard at the rumpled sheets, nose pressed into Keith’s pillow, breathing in the alpha’s musk.

 

“Keith!” He yelps, high and raw, as a tongue flicks at his rim. His toes curl and it takes everything he has to not cum right then and there at the new feeling. “Nononono,” he whines, shaking his head roughly. “Not now. I won’t last. I want to cum when you’re in me. I want to be marked as you f-fuck me.”

 

“Lance…” Keith sounds wrecked, throaty and deep.

 

“Make me your omega. Please, Keith, I want this. Ever since you were a beta. I’ve wanted this for so lo-“ His begging is cut off by two fingers plunging into his ass right up to the knuckles.

 

“Oh god, you’re so wet,” Keith says in awe, pushing in further and scissoring slowly as he feels around and presses against Lance’s walls. He can feel slick leaking out between his fingers. “Is it always like this?”

 

“N-no?” Lance manages. “Usually it takes some prep for me to be this-”

 

“-Ready,” Keith finishes for him.

 

“ _So_ ready.”

 

He’s flipped again, head on the pillow, and legs splayed wide as Keith crawls slowly up the bed, as if stalking his prone prey.

 

“I hope so. I- I’m probably not going to be able to stop myself.”

 

His hands frame Lance’s head, hovering over him, form blocking out the dim light above. He’s panting hard and Lance can see his eyes are drawn to Lance’s unmarked neck. Keith licks his dry lips.

 

“It’s fine,” he says. “I’ll say that as many times as you want. You’re so good to me. You’re a wonderful alpha.” His skin is on fire and anticipation burns in his abdomen, low and tight. He tangles his fingers in Keith’s sweaty hair. “Now, take care of your omega, alpha.”

 

Keith gives a broken whine.

 

The flames in his stomach lick higher as Keith lines himself up, the tip pressing against his hole. Then Keith growls, pulls back and thrusts in to the hilt.

 

Lance never pegged himself as a screamer but he can’t help it right now as pleasure bursts behind his eyelids like fireworks. His back arches off the bed, the sudden fullness and ache hitting all the right spots and satisfying his omega instincts in ways fingers or a toy never could.

 

He wraps his legs around Keith and his fingers cling onto his back. He sobs, riding the waves of pleasure.

 

“Oh fuck,” he hears Keith groan. His cock feels much bigger, parting Lance wider and wider.

 

Oh shit. It’s his knot. It’s Keith’s fucking knot.

 

Keith shifts, his thrusts becoming shallower as the knot catches on his rim as he moves in and out. The new angle hits the right spot, nails his prostate. The knot thickens locking Keith into Lance, filling him in a way only an alpha could. He tips his head back and howls in pleasure.

 

Keith takes it as an invitation, snarls, and sinks his teeth into the tendon in his neck. _Hard_. Lance shrieks and he’s done, orgasm cresting and crashing down with him, as he spurts all over their stomachs.

 

He falls back onto the bed, floating weightless as Keith roars, honest to god roars, sound vibrating through Lance’s body where they’re locked together. Keith’s hold on Lance’s hip tightens, no doubt bruising, as his orgasm rips through his body and Lance can only mewl weakly as an insane amount of cum floods his already dripping ass.

 

Lance gives an “oof” as Keith collapses on top of him. But he can’t bring himself to care.

 

“I think you killed me,” Lance rasps.

 

Keith unlatches his teeth from Lance’s neck and lazily laps at the stinging mark. He can’t tell if he’s bleeding or not. Every inch of his body is a puddle of fuzzy happiness, pleasure singing through him.

 

“Here lies Lance: killed by sex?” Keith chuckles, against his neck. He’s taking his time, kissing and nipping everywhere and Lance just basks in the attention and giggles, feeling high as a kite. The air is thick with the mix of their scent. It reminds Lance of burnt sugar.

 

“You can kill me as many times as you want.”

 

Keith takes Lance up on that offer.

 

***

 

When Lance wakes up everything feels gross and god he’s starving. But he’s wrapped up in Keith’s arms, nose pressed against his chest, warm and light and doesn’t want to move. He wipes some of his drool off Keith’s chest.

 

Keith is sleeping peacefully, breath even and red chapped lips parted slightly. Lance wiggles an arm out from Keith’s arms to brush a few stray bangs from his face.

 

The alpha’s rut broke somewhere after the sixth-time Keith had his knot shoved up his ass. After that things went blurry as every touch and breath became too much in his oversensitized state. Damn alpha stamina. Or was it Galra stamina? Either way, Lance’s ass was hurting like hell.

 

“Are you alive?” Keith mumbles. Lance looks up. His eyes are barely open, long lashes low as he stares down at his omega. Just that thought made him smile. His omega. And Keith was now his alpha.

 

“You killed me remember? I’m just a zombie now.”

 

“Right, got it,” Keith chuckles. His hand starts rubbing soothing circles on Lance’s back. Lance hums lightly at the touch. “How’s your neck? I uh… bit you pretty hard.”

 

Lance reaches up and feels around. Sure enough, among a dozen other smaller marks, there is a decent sized scab on his neck. It hurts but it's a pleasant ache. One that will always remind him of Keith.

 

“That was the plan, right?” Lance says, wiggling his brows at Keith.

 

Keith has the nerve to blush as he presses lightly against the mark, as if he can’t believe it’s there. “Yeah.”

 

They stay in bed a little longer until Keith decides they need to clean up, get some food, and talk to the rest of the team who probably knows exactly what had happened and steered clear of the room for days.

 

Lance doesn’t look forward the shit eating grin he knows Pidge will be wearing.

 

“Alright, but you’ll have to carry me,” Lance says, holding his arms out expectantly. “I’m not going to get very far on my own legs for a while.”

 

“I can already tell you’re going to use that on me for a while,” Keith sighs, but scoops Lance off the bed. Lance just smirks.

 

Somewhere between the bed and the bathroom, Lance notices a bruise on Keith’s neck. Which was weird because Lance didn’t get a chance to put any marks there. He rubs at the vivid purple splotch absently, noticing a twin not far from it.

 

Huh. The color kind of reminds him of Kolivan-

 

His eyes go wide.

 

Oh.

**Author's Note:**

> First thing I post and it has to be A/B/O. This was inspired by a post floating around tumblr where Keith gets proper Galra nutrition.
> 
> Should I write more stuff like this?
> 
> Edit: Fixed a few typos that bugged me


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